Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 25(2): 289–294, 2018 (December) - Short communication © 2018 Bangladesh Association of Plant Taxonomists LECTOTYPIFICATION OF THE GENUS GEISSASPIS WIGHT & ARN. (FABACEAE - PAPILIONOIDEAE) ANOOP P. BALAN1, S.V. PREDEEP2, P.S. UDAYAN3 AND R. PRAKASHKUMAR4 Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, GA College P.O., Kozhikode, Kerala 673 014, India Keywords: Geissaspis; India; Lectotypification; New synonym. Two species of Geissaspis Wight & Arn. of Indian origin namely, G. cristata Wight & Arn. and G. tenella Benth. are lectotypified. G. tenella var. malabarica Sivar. & A. Babu is synonymized here under G. tenella. The genus Geissaspis was established by Wight and Arnott (1834) based on collections from Indian Peninsula. In India, the genus was known by two species and one variety, viz. G. cristata Wight & Arn., G. tenella Benth. var. tenella, and G. tenella Benth. var. malabarica Sivar. & A. Babu. However, a comparative study reveals that G. tenella var. malabarica did not warrant distinction from its typical variety and as such it is proposed here as a new synonym. G. cristata is widely distributed from West Bengal to Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while G. tenella is restricted to Central and South India. During our studies of Fabaceae in South India, it was noticed that holotypes of these taxa were not designated hence the lectotypification of them become imperative, and the same has been done here. 1. Geissaspis cristata Wight & Arn., Prodr.: 218 (1834). (Fig. 1A). Type citation: ‘G. cristata (W. & A.) Wight ! Cat. n. 823. Zornia disperma Graham! in Wall.! L. n. 5663. Hedysarum bijugum, herb. Klein! Smithia? cristata, herb. Wight! Courtallum, in moist soil. Malabar, in rice fields’. Lectotype (designated here): INDIA, Courtallum, Herb. Wight propr. 823 (K000846467 image!); Isolectotype (CAL0000012761!, E00174473!, E00174477!, E00174478!, K000846468!, P02936304!) (Fig. 2). Residual syntype: INDIA. Malabar, 26 Aug. 1826, Wallich Cat. n. 5663 (E00174474!, E00174475!, E00174476!, K000846469!, P02936298!). Distribution: India (Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal), Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Geissaspis cristata was originally described by Wight and Arnott (1834) based on the specimens of Robert Wight from Courtallum. Specimens of Graham and Klein from Malabar region were also cited in the protologue. After extensive surveys in various herbaria, we could find eight sheets of Herb. Wight 823, three sheets at E (E00174473!, E00174477!, E00174478!), two each at CAL (two sheets of CAL0000012761), and K (K000846467!, K000846468!) and one 1Corresponding author. Email: anooppb01@gmail.com 2P.G. Department of Botany, S.V.R.N.S.S. College, T.P. Puram P.O., Vazhoor, Kottayam, Kerala 686 505, India. 3P.G. Department of Botany, Sree Krishna College, Ariyannur P.O., Guruvayur, Thrissur, Kerala 680 102, India. 4Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Gardens and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695562, India. mailto:anooppb01@gmail.com 290 BALAN et al. Fig. 1. A. Geissaspis cristata Wight & Arn.; B.&C. Geissaspis tenella Benth. LECTOTYPIFICATION OF THE GENUS GEISSASPIS 291 sheet at P (P02936298!). Among them, the specimens housed at K are well preserved and more complete than the rest. Of the two sheets of Herb. Wight. 823 at K, K000846467 well displayed the details of the taxon and allows a more complete comparison with the protologue. K000846467 comprises two specimens which is selected and designated here as the lectotype of G. cristata. The other specimens mentioned in the protologue (E00174474!, E00174475!, E00174476!, K000846469!, P02936298!) forms the residual syntypes. 2. Geissaspis tenella Benth., Flora 32: 559 (1849). (Fig. 1B & C). Type citation: ‘Habitat pr. Bolma ad vias’. Lectotype (designated here): INDIA. Bolma, s.coll. 659 (K000846466!) (Fig. 3). Geissaspis tenella Benth. var. malabarica Sivar. & Babu, Journ. Econ. Tax. Bot. 5: 941 (1984), syn. nov. Holotype: INDIA. Kerala, Malappuram, Calicut University campus, August 1983, Babu 37408 (MH!); Isotype: CALI (!). Bentham (1849) described G. tenella based on specimens from western peninsular India. Baker (1876: 141) cited s.coll. 659 as Bentham’s original specimen, which is housed presently at K (K000846466). This sheet comprises 3 specimens mounted on a single sheet which is selected and designated here as the lectotype of this taxon. Geissaspis tenella Benth. var. malabarica was described by Sivarajan and Babu (1984) based on the flower colour. According to them the typical variety has lemon-yellow flowers and is restricted to the northern districts of eastwhile Malabar and is nearly absent from the Calicut and Malappuram districts where this species is represented by the maroon-coloured form. The authors quoted the opinion of Dr. R.M. Polhill (pers. comm.) which states that “it is common for the yellow-flowered species in Papilionoideae to have fine red veins or markings and if so, then a red flush is quite often seen on old flowers or as variations between plant populations”. The flower colour is not consistent in the plants in Calicut and Malappuram districts and moreover, the standard petal of G. tenella var. tenella is also tinged with maroon. After critical examination of herbarium (including type) as well as live specimens of both varieties, we did not find any significant differences to separate the two. Similarly, palynological studies of both varieties also revealed close resemblance, i.e. 3- zonocolpate grains with elliptic and operculate colpi having perforated membrane, prolate- spheroidal shape and reticulate exine ornamentation in both varieties. The only difference is observed in the grain size range, i.e. 18.7–26.3 × 16.2–23.2 μm in var. tenella and 18.1–25.9 × 16.4–23.5 μm in var. malabarica, which is not sufficient to distinguish var. malabarica from the typical variety tenella. Therefore, G. tenella var. malabarica is proposed to place under synonymy of Geissaspis tenella Benth. Distribution: India (Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu). 292 BALAN et al. Fig. 2. Lectotype of Geissaspis cristata Wight & Arn. (K000846467, © The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). LECTOTYPIFICATION OF THE GENUS GEISSASPIS 293 Fig. 3. Lectotype of Geissaspis tenella Benth. (K000846466, © The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). Acknowledgements We are grateful to the curators of E, K and P for permitting to use the virtual images of type specimens and CAL, CALI and MH for permitting to consult specimens and Dr. V.P. Prasad, Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah for the help given for locating the type specimens at CAL. We express our gratitude to the Director, Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, Kozhikode for all the facilities provided for this work. First author is indebted to Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for financial assistance through the project PDF/2016/001936. 294 BALAN et al. References Baker, J.G. 1876. Geissaspis. In: Hooker, J.D. (Ed) Flora of British India, Vol. 2. Reeve and Co., London, pp. 141. Bentham, G. 1849. Geissaspis tenella. In: Hohenacker, R.F. (Ed) Plantae e Territoriis Canara, Mahrattarum australiori et Malayalim. Flora 32: 559. Sivarajan, V.V. and Babu, A. 1984. Floristic notes on some new elements in Indian Flora. J. Econ. & Tax. Bot. 5(4): 942. Wight, R. and Arnott, G.A.W. 1834. Prodromus Florae Peninsulae Indiae Orientalis. Neill & Co., 217 pp. (Manuscript received on 22 October 2017; revised on 11 Novemberr 2018)